A Moment of Enlightenment
by The Multiverse Project
Summary: The Powers That Be have a message for their children. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:**_Young Wizards_ and affiliated characters, objects and ideas are property of Diane Duane. This piece of fanfiction was created for and intended for entertainment purposes only. No infringements of any copyrights are intended, and are used here without permission. 

**A/N:** Ah! Nostalgia, stolen HHGG lines and OOC goodness. I knew grade nine had been fun.

**A Moment of Enlightenment**

Cat eyes glowed, sparkled even, in the dim light of the subway tunnels. Padded feet made no sound as they patrolled the tracks. The security cameras saw nothing- not because the ragged fur matched the color of the gravel so well, but simply because the cat wasn't_ there_.

Now it was. It gave itself a shake and scratch- being invisible always made it itchy. A thin shimmer of moon dust hung in a fine silver mist before drifting back onto the feline wizard. It sat, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

A telltale rumble reverberated off the walls of the cramped space, gripping the bones of the tunnel and shaking them furiously. The cat quickly flattened itself onto the rusting tracks, stretching out until it felt arrows of pain shooting up its spine. The rumble swelled into a ear splitting roar, then a shriek that resonated in everything it touched, awaking engulfing fear and exhilaration, clouding everything but the iron will to _survive…_

The train tore by. It was of no consequence; it hadn't been what the wizard was waiting for anyway. Getting up unsteadily, the cat stretched out its senses in search of other unexpected trains- that one had been running a few minutes late, according to the schedule the cat had been given. Track riding (as this was known among the feline community) was a thrilling extreme sport, except when you didn't ride on purpose.

Carefully the cat licked every hair back into place, and then resumed waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

There was a slight pattering of little feet off to the side. Two tattered ears swivelled to catch the sound, and then muscles bunched up to pounce on the tiny creature.

The rat paused in plain sight, giving the cat the rat equivalent of an almost disdainful look. Seeing this particular rat, which seemed to be devoid of any colour but white, the cat reluctantly relaxed her pose. Her stomach rumbled in protest.

"Good evening, Emissary," the rat proclaimed with a distinctly polite air.

"Make it quick. I'm hungry." Starting to tremble, the rat's voice took on an audible stutter.

"I-I- uh, I was, uh, j-just wondering, um- whenthemeetingis?" The last words went by too fast for the cat to hear, and it leaned forward a bit, causing the rat to go into convulsions.

"Uh-um, I-I can- th-that is, I'm sure- uh, n-never mind," the rat squeaked faintly, and scampered off. Satisfied, but a bit sorry for the lost meal, the cat scanned its surroundings for more waiting creatures other than the rat and itself. The meeting would start when there were enough attendees for a meeting to happen, as the rat would have found out if he had stuck around long enough.

Slowly, steadily, more creatures trickled into that little stretch of the subway tunnel, each greeting the cat before finding a place in the shadows. No one there knew quite why he, she or it was there, not even the cat, except for the fact that this was too important to miss.

A slight shimmer touched the air above the large open space above the tracks where everyone had instinctively avoided occupying for too long. What was a low hush faded to expectant silence, as the glimmer brightened and spread into a large blotch before forming into words.

_The Powers that Be give you their greetings, Emissary._

The feline wizard shuffled slightly before replying formally; "I greet you likewise on behalf of myself and those gathered here, whom I represent."

A long pause followed, which stretched from seconds into minutes. No one in the considerable crowd that had gathered in the cramped tunnel dared to move, but the air of uncertainty grew more palpable with each silent moment. Finally:

_Well, ah- hey! I do NOT need the script! I know how to work this quite fine, Raphael- _

_Please forgive us for any further interruptions while we FIGURE OUT HOW THIS CURSED THING WORKS! _

You_ designed it, Ralphie. Shouldn't you know?_

_Someone stole the user documentation I wrote for this spell!_

_**You need **_**HELP **_**using something **_**YOU**_** made? **__No wonder everyone always complains to us about life…_

Fascinated, the crowd watched the light seem to argue with itself as the Powers wrestled with the other end of the communications spell. It had not occurred to anyone that even the omnipotent Powers that Be could have their down days, and the cat observed the scrolling writing (apparently voice-activated, or so the cat reasoned) with that thoughtful, bemused expression a human would get if he saw his prime minister/president/king doing the Macarena.

"Excuse me," the cat interrupted timidly in the tone of that person approaching his prime minister/president/king to make sure it really is his prime minister/president/king, "uh, was there something you wished to show us?"

_It wasn't ME who decided to- oh, yes. It isn't really that important, but we thought that you might need a bit of comfort right now-_

_I told you to STICK WITH THE SCRIPT!_

_-so we just thought we'd give our take on life and battling evil and all that-_

_Ggrrggtt. Get to the point! We don't have all __millennium, and I don't want to keep the energy channel open for too long!_

_-so here it is!_

It was a simple little phrase, really, but it brought such a sense of enlightenment and satisfaction that a soft sigh rippled through the dinghy subway tunnel. It seemed to explain every fear, every dark hour, and every load that a creature had to suffer through. The cat felt the burdens and cares that came with being a wizard lift slightly as the cat read the Powers' philosophy on mortal life, which hung as silver as the moon dust still coating the feline's fur:

_We apologise for the inconvenience._


End file.
